TWO COW GARAGE – SWEET SAINT ME

I’m gonna admit up front that if you’re looking for an “objective” review of the album, then you may as well hit your browser’s back button right now. I’m not here to be objective about the music I love, and as any regular here knows, not only do I love the music these guys make, I like them as people, too. That said, no matter how much I like a band, I’m not in the business of convincing myself that I like something (see the last few DBT cd reviews), so I hope you believe that my enthusiasm for this album is genuine.

Two Cow Garage could not have found a more fitting month to release their fifth album, Sweet Saint Me, than Rocktober. Over the past eight years I’ve watched these guys morph from what one might call a heavy metal alt.country band into a straight forward bar room rock band, before adding keys to their sound in 2008 and becoming a rock and roll force that has taken (in my opinion) the title of Best Touring Rock and Roll Band In America from the Drive-By Truckers tour buses and backstage green room-softened hands. Over those years we’ve also watched them grow as songwriters and people, maturing from the small town youthful angst of the first two album, to the doubt and despair of being in a struggling band that was a large overtone of the last two albums, to now.

With Sweet Saint Me, gone are those doubts, gone is the despair. In its place is the acceptance of “Soundtrack of My Summer”, the resolve of “Brothers In Arms” and the battle cry of “My Great Gatsby”. It took 8 years and 5 albums, but Two Cow Garage has finally decided to shrug the jacket of discontent and plant their flag firmly at the 50 yard line of rock and roll’s home turf.

What do you say after that? Is it Essential Listening? Absolutely. Is it one of the best albums of the year? No doubt about it. Is it their best album ever? Man, that’s tough. Personally, I am looking at Sweet Saint Me as a reboot of the band. Two Cow v.2, if you will. I will say this, it’s easily the best collection of songs they’ve ever released. I’ll say that, even though I think the best song Micah’s ever written was “Skinny Legged Girl”, Sweet Saint Me displays Micah’s best songwriting to date, and once the pure rock fury (can you name the rock reference right there?) gets comfortable there will be plenty of depth in the words to keep you flush with heady obscure lyric quotes for Twitter for months. I will also say it’s the best album they’ve ever done instrumentally and it’s easily their most confident album ever.

So, behold. This is a great little band, and just because you may not have heard of them doesn’t change that. Once I watched a Black Keys show here in Tampa with maybe 50 other people. The next time they played Tampa they were in a fucking amphitheater. Get on board now, skip one 8 dollar, double mocha, double extra soy frapp with extra reverse zahbe-dah from Starbucks and buy an .mp3 copy of this album.

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12 Comments

evan

October 7, 2010

Couldn’t agree more with all the above. I stopped giving a crap about DBT’s a long time ago so I would put Lucero at second place for best live rock band.

Cursive, Stage Lights, and Sweet Saint Me are a mindblowingly good run of records. When Titus Andronicus’ Monitor came out earlier this year I said it would take an epic record to replace it as my favorite of the year. Sweet Saint Me is that record (only because I was lucky enough to get Stage Lights last year)

WILLY

October 7, 2010

been listening to this album non-stop for about a week, “nothing gonna change but nothing gonna stay the same”, with that said TWO COW GARAGE fucking rules.

definitely best record of probably hundred or so i have bought or listened to this year no question.

i have to say my two favorite tracks, “what dying is for” and “lucy and the butcher knife”

INCREDIBLE RECORD

Iain Muir

October 7, 2010

love the album and the band, great to get a download of the album with the pre-order as well. Unfortunately living in Australia no chance to see them live but you are not the first person to tell me they are the best touring band out there. Lets hope that this brings them the success and exposure they deserve for an awesome album.

nick

October 8, 2010

such a great record and I can’t wait to see some of these played live.

Also i’d never have put DBT in front of Lucero as Best Touring Rock and Roll Band In America. My problem with 2Cow is that they don’t tour here enough. I see them maybe once a year if I’m lucky.

dvot

October 8, 2010

Soundtrack to my Summer is perhaps as good a song as has been recorded this decade.

John

October 8, 2010

As a testimony to the fortitude and drive of this band, they suffered a great personal loss this week and yet felt compelled to continue to be out playing the music that their friend loved so much. This isn’t just music, it’s their lives and they play like their lives depend on it. The genesis of this band was formed in my basement and I am proud to say that these are my boys. Thanks to everyone for their ongoing support and if you’re within a stone’s throw in the next month or so, go see them.

Ron

October 8, 2010

Mohawk Place awaits…

Domagoj

October 9, 2010

I saw TCG live in February 13 2008 in Zagreb.(really hope it won’t be the last). In that time never heard of the band and wasn’t expect to much. But when they finish(they closed with
furious N. Young OHIO)I was blown away with energy, truth and how they spill out their lives in front of crowd. The albums do the same (including Sweet saint me and Micah solo). The funny thing is that when i was looking informations about band
I run on ninebullets.net. 9b turned me on to lot of great music, still does, but Two Cow Garage turned me on 9b. THANKS! Love your songs.

Aaron

October 9, 2010

I guess I’m in the minority, but I don’t think this album is as good as the 3 that came before it. I’m not saying it’s bad, by any stretch of the imagination. I am a little disappointed in it, but only because the bar was set so high. I actually have only listened to the whole thing once, with a few of the songs a couple of times, so maybe my opinion will change.

AdHoff

October 13, 2010

Are they gonna put this thing on iTunes?

colbyord

October 22, 2010

Fantastic album, can’t wait to get the amazing deluxe set from Suburban Home. And A+ on the Clutch reference, I still wear my Pure Rock Fury t-shirt!